APSE

2012 Chicago Conference: Panel will explore year of scandal in college sports

admin — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:13:51 +0000

By Ron Fritz

Head of Sports

Baltimore Sun

In March 2011 Sara Ganim of the Harrisburg Patriot News broke the news that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was being investigated by a grand jury for allegedly sexually abusing children.

A year later, Ganim and the Patriot News were award a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.

Just months after Ganim first reported the Sandusky grand jury, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel resigned amid an NCAA investigation over a tattoo parlor scandal.

In August, Charles Robinson and Yahoo! Sports reported that a University of Miami booster, incarcerated for his role in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, provided thousands of impermissible benefits to at least 72 athletes from 2002 through 2010.

In November, Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine was accused by two former ball boys of allegedly sexually molesting them. He was let go later that month. A third accuser came forward, but has since recanted his story, saying he made it up.

These are just four scandals dominating college sports in 2011. Robinson and Emily Kulkus of the Syracuse Post-Standard will detail their investigations and stories about the Miami football and Syracuse basketball programs.

You can learn more about the full lineup for the 2012 summer conference here as well as learn how to get in on some of the extracurricular activities surrounding the sessions here.

Registration is easy at this link, and you can pay the registration fee online here.

If paying by check, make checks payable to APSE and send to:

APSE
P.O. Box 29743Richmond, VA 23242

To make Chicago Marriott reservations click here.

Or call:
Reservations Toll Free: 1-877-303-0104
Reservations Local Phone: 1-506-474-2009
APSE rate is $199. Reservation deadline is May 25 at 5 p.m.

Questions: Contact Executive Director Jack Berninger (804) 741-1565 or jackapse@aol.com

2012 Chicago conference: Hotel registration deadline approaches

admin — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:38 +0000

The hotel registration deadline for the 2012 APSE summer conference is Friday, May 25, at 5 p.m.

To make reservations at the Downtown Chicago Marriott, go to this link:

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=8772456

Our price is $199 per night.

To register for the June 20-23 APSE/AWSM conference in Chicago, go to the following link:

http://apsportseditors.org/convention-registration/

The registration fee is $225 through June 1, $275 thereafter.

President’s column: Make plans now to join us in Chicago for our 2012 conference

Michael Anastasi — Mon, 21 May 2012 00:35:49 +0000

By Michael A. Anastasi

APSE President

Managing Editor, Salt Lake Tribune

We’re about a month out from APSE’s most exciting time of the year, our annual conference taking place in June in Chicago.

As always, the networking and opportunities to talk shop with your colleagues from across the country make this an event well worth the time from your ever-frenetic schedule. But I am particularly pleased with the professional development that we are offering.

And that makes this an event you won’t want to miss.

Working in conjunction with our partners from the Association for Women in Sports Media, we are presenting sessions that cover the array of what we do, from digital to print to management technique and story opportunity.

A look at the sessions and the accomplished pros that are participating:

· A year of scandal in college sports

Led by Ron Fritz of The Baltimore Sun, this general session looks at how the biggest stories across the nation were broken and played across various platforms. Panelists are Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, who was behind the coverage of Miami, and Emily Kulkus, who broke the Bernie Fine story.

· What’s going on around here? Effective communication with your team

This workshop, led by Carrie Cousins, recently of The Roanoke Times, and Ed Guzman, of the Washington Post, examines steps editors can take to improve intra-office communication. Further, it looks at techniques to help reporters turn their best stories into excellent centerpieces.

· Social Media and Ethics in Sports Journalism

Stefanie Loh, who becomes AWSM’s next president at the conference, leads this workshop. Loh is a reporter at The Patriot-News, which won the Pulitzer Prize for its breaking and reporting of the Joe Paterno story, and is joined by Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated/SI.com, Robert Gagliardi of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle/WyoSports and Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. With Twitter becoming a ubiquitous reporting tool for sports journalists, the panel looks at how the responsibilities of journalists have evolved in regard to social media including Facebook and Storify among others. What are other challenges journalists may face?

· Branding your local coverage

This workshop is especially focused on smaller news organizations, where sports editors often have the responsibility of helping find content solutions that work for the bottom line. The panel is led by outgoing 3^rd Vice President Ben Brigandi and features three other highly-successful sports editors of smaller new organizations that have made their coverage of prep sports pay off for their publishers as well as their readers, John Bednarowski of the Marietta Daily Journal, Courtney Linehan of the Times of Northwest Indiana and Eric Olson of the Northwest Herald.

· The Olympics: Everything you need to know

With the London Games beginning in July and a time difference that makes these Games perfect for our digital audiences, this general session provides tips and ideas on how to best cover them, whether you are there in person or not. Leading the discussion is Jerry Micco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a distinguished APSE Past President and the new chair of APSE’s Olympics Committee. He’ll be joined by Mark Jones of the USOC, former 3^rd VP Greg Brownell of The Post-Star and Vicki Michaelis, veteran Olympics writer for USA Today and soon to be a Professor of Sports Journalism at Georgia.

· Ambitious Journalism

This workshop examines how editors — no matter how big the organization — can make the tough choices and commitment to producing thought-provoking and page-view successful enterprise in an era of dwindling resources. Scott Monserud of the Denver Post leads another group of fine editors who do that everyday at different levels. Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News, Wyoming’s Gagliardi and Jason Stallman of the New York Times won’t simply explain how they do it, they’ll help inspire and explain how you can do it, too.

· What a Woman Wants

This workshop, led by APSE Triple Crown winner Lisa Wilson of The Buffalo News, examines the consumption of sports content by women and how it’s evolved over the last 40 years. We know women don’t simply want coverage of women’s sports. It’s much more complex and nuanced. Wilson will be joined by Mike Harris of the Washington Times, Amy Moritz, president of AWSM, and Shelley Smith of ESPN.

· The Re-emphasis on Sunday

We all know circulation generally has continued to decline, but the Sunday paper is making a comeback. Readers have more time on Sundays to spend with us, and they like the extra value of the big papers with their many ads and inserts. But it’s up to us to capitalize on this and deliver a product that’s worth their time and money. Led by Mark Faller of the Arizona Republic, this general session also features noted Sunday experts Jeff Rosen of the Kansas City Star and Mike James of the Los Angeles Times. They’ll help you understand ways to re-invest in the Sunday core product and the revenue it can drive, and how to integrate this approach with your digital strategy, since Sunday is usually the lowest traffic day of the week.

· Title IX: The legacy of 40 years

This capstone general session takes place on Saturday, June 23, the 40^th anniversary of the Title IX legislation. Leader Karen Wall Bush will be joined by Marcia Keegan of ESPN and Joe Sullivan of the Boston Globe, who will engage in a thought-provoking discussion of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.

Deadlines for the conference are approaching. Consider registering today at apsportseditors.org or follow this link.

Michael A. Anastasi is president of APSE and a managing editor at The Salt Lake Tribune. He can be reached at manastasi@sltrib.com.

Sports copy editor

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:10:04 +0000

The Roanoke Times is looking for a versatile copy editor to join its night editing desk. We need someone who has a demonstrated knowledge of sports – and relishes editing sports content — but is also comfortable editing a government story or writing a music review headline.   This position has a sports-editing focus but our universal desk editors handle copy and design for all sections — news, sports and features. Strong candidates will be able to communicate effectively and compromise with reporters, line editors and other copy editors to make reader-centered decisions about content and packaging.

The ideal candidate will be an agile thinker, have keen news judgment, understand the value of compiling sports agate and feel comfortable taking a call from a high school coach and writing up a game summary. We're looking for someone who is collegial and collaborative and who won't be constrained by a title. While copy editing daily, advance and online copy is the heart of this job, also important is the willingness to learn — often and quickly — the skills needed to deliver news to our readers where they are and package it appropriately, whether it's for print, the web or a mobile device. The person in this position will need to become proficient in our print publishing system as well as our online content management system and how the two work together to produce the daily online report and breaking news.

Weekend and holiday work are a regular part of this job.

Essential duties and responsibilities

•    Edit sports, news and features copy and write display type in accordance with AP style, the stylebook of The Roanoke Times, and Webster's New World Fourth Edition. (An editing test will be required.)
•    Update roanoke.com as news breaks/stories develop and in a maintenance capacity to shepherd the posting of the print report to the website.
•    Deliver news, information, stories, updates and other forms of coverage to our community via Twitter, Facebook, blogs, e-mail updates, text message, breaking-news e-mail and any other platform we employ in the future.
•    Stay current on our coverage, that of the competition, and the big headlines from national and international news.
•    Answer phones and compile game summaries and sports agate as needed.

Required Skills

•    Bachelor's degree
•    Experience copy editing on a daily news deadline.
•    Knowledge of sports and sports editing style.
•    Proven ability to write clearly, tightly and accurately — for headlines, cutlines, promos, briefs, updates, write-throughs, tweets, text messages and more — and to meet tight deadlines doing so.
•    A visual eye and a sense of what's missing, what's needed and how the pieces of a package work together.
•    Ability to be decisive and to adapt quickly and comfortably to change.
•    Curiosity, creativity, enthusiasm and interest in new technology and finding ways to improve our strategies.
•    Experience with Adobe InCopy and InDesign as well as Internet content management systems is a plus.

All candidates must apply online at www.jobs.roanoke.com. E-mail questions to michael.stowe@roanoke.com

Agenda set for Northeast Region meeting on May 14

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:30:35 +0000

By Hank Winnicki

Assistant Managing Editor/Sports, Newsday

Chair, APSE Northeast Region

The agenda has been set for the APSE Northeast Regional meeting in Boston.

Here are the details:

When: Monday, May 14 at 9:15 a.m.

Where: The Boston Globe

135 William T Morrissey Blvd.

Dorchester, MA 02125

Parking: Free parking is available (Go past the Globe building on Morrissey Blvd. to the third entrance. Tell the guard you are there for APSE and park as directed. Walk back to the front of the building to the main entrance)

The agenda:

9:30 to 10:45: Guide to Smart Phones — The Boston Globe's multimedia editor Ed Medina and Newsday's sports cross media editor Mark La Monica discuss how smart phones can be better used for news gathering across all platforms. Tips on video, audio and the use of tablets.

11 to 12:15: Covering the Beat — Al Vieira, AME at the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, leads a discussion on the challenges facing the beat writer. Panelists include Pete Thamel, who covers college sports for the New York Times, Geoff Baker, who covers the Mariners for the Seattle Times, and Scott Lauber, who covers the Red Sox for the Boston Herald.

Lunch from 12:15 to 1:15. There is a cafeteria on the premises.

1:15 to 2:30: The Red Sox collapse (aka The Beer and Fried Chicken story) – Boston Globe investigative reporter Bob Hohler and Boston Globe assistant sports editor Scott Thurston discuss the ASPE-award winning story that is still making headlines.

2:45 to 3:45: Fantasy Sports – New York Daily News Sunday sports editor Eric Barrow talks about how the News is taking a different approach to fantasy sports, producing special sections and daily content to better serve its readers.

3:45 to 4:15: Best Ideas – Editors are encouraged to bring recent examples of the their work to share with the group.

4:15 to 4:30: Business meeting

For questions, please contact Hank Winnicki at 631-843-4832 or Hank.Winnicki@newsday.com.

2012 summer conference activities include White Sox baseball, 5K run and now 3-on-3 hoops

Tim Stephens — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:35:08 +0000

Registration continues for the 2012 APSE summer conference, set for June 20-23 in Chicago.

You can read all about the plans for our first joint convention with AWSM by clicking this link here.

In addition to sessions, the Red Smith Award luncheon honoring Frank Deford and much more amid all the Chicago culture, we aren't leaving out a little fun and games on Saturday, June 23, before we hand out the awards.

– The APSE 5K has quickly become a fixture at APSE events For some, it's a chance to show off their competitive running skills. For others, it has become the motivation for even bigger things (read here about the life-changing transformation of Philadelphia Inquirer sports editor John Quinn).

– 1st Vice President Gerry Ahern says an inaugural APSE 3-on-3 basketball tournament is in the works. An indoor court has been secured and several players have already signed up. If you'd like to play, e-mail Ahern at gahern@usatoday.com

– A tennis tournament has also been discussed as possibility for Saturday as well. More to come on that.

If you'd rather leave the sports entertainment to the pros, there is a great deal offered on a night at the ballpark to watch the Chicago White Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. The deadline to purchase tickets extended until Tuesday, May 15

Tickets are $26 each. The White Sox also offer a Patio Party — $63 ($42 for the Patio ticket and a reduced baseball ticket of $21).

If you want tickets to either, please do two things:

1. Email Jack Berninger at jackapse@aol.com and let him know how many you want and whether you want regular or patio tickets;

2. Make your check out to APSE for the appropriate amount and send them to:

APSE

PO Box 29743

Richmond, VA 23242

HOTEL RESERVATION DEADLINE IS MAY 25

To make reservations at the Downtown Chicago Marriott, go to this link:

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=8772456

Our price is $199 per night. Reservation deadline is May 25 at 5 p.m.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

To register for the June 20-23 APSE/AWSM conference in Chicago, go to the following link:

http://apsportseditors.org/convention-registration/

The registration fee is $225 through June 1, $275 thereafter.

Senior Editor

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:32:46 +0000

Senior Editor – ESPN.com

The Senior Editor is a managerial job overseeing the editorial operations for

College Football on ESPN.com. This role includes strategic and tactical

planning, coordination of content among multiple sources, and vision and

direction for all related products.

Responsibilities

This role directs staff editors and writers, freelancers and independent

contractors, as well as assigns, edits and posts daily content. This position

requires a passion for and in-depth knowledge of college football, and the

ESPN.com audience, with extensive background in the content creation and

management process. This person will also help coordinate and integrate relevant

coverage with ESPN's multiple entities, including but not limited to TV

production, mobile, The Magazine and Insider. The Senior Editor will work to

expand and make coverage more comprehensive, using various platforms, including

video, audio and interactivity. This editor will be responsible for ensuring

that all content meets established tone, theme, accuracy, style and consistency

requirements. In addition, the Senior Editor will work with the Deputy

Editor/College Sports, in coordination with Sales & Marketing, to help identify

and develop content with sponsorship potential.

Basic Qualifications

Typically 6-8 years of editorial and reporting experience; Strong leadership and

communication skills, and experience managing or supervising a cross-functional

team; Ability to follow and shape stories at various stages of development using

various means of presentation; Advanced news journalism experience and news

judgment; understands assigned sport from a journalistic point of view;

Excellent English grammar and organizational skills; Knowledge of college

football, as well as athletes, coaches, league operations and the like

Preferred Qualifications

Understanding of HTML and related web-authoring tools and software; Familiarity

with most major Internet search engines and fluency in electronic newsgathering

techniques; Appreciation of popular culture, and understanding of the tastes of

ESPN's audiences.

Preferred Education

Bachelor's degree or higher preferred in journalism, communications or a related

field

Contact: David Albright, Senior Director/Managing Editor, david.albright@espn.com

To apply: http://jobs.espncareers.com/connecticut/digital-media/jobid2372039-senior-editor-jobs

It’s time to enter APSE Southwest Region writing contest

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:16:27 +0000

By Keith Campbell

Deputy Sports Editor, Dallas Morning News

Chair, APSE Southwest Region

I’m pleased to announce the 2012 annual writing contest for the Southwest Region of the APSE as well as the dates and location of our regional meeting.

As in past years, we don't charge for this contest nor do we require APSE membership for you to enter. And we’d be happy to have non-members join the organization.

Following are the contest rules.

Entries must be postmarked by end of the day Friday, June 1. This is a contest for your 2011 work. The awards for the regional contest will be handed out at the San Antonio meeting.

Divisions:

* 125,000 and above

* 20,000 to 125,000

* Under 20,000

Categories:

* Feature writing

* Beat writing

* Enterprise/project

* Event coverage

* Column writing

* Headline writing

* Daily/Sunday section fronts

* Special sections

A newspaper may have a total of three entries (no more than one per writer) in each writing category. No article can be entered in more than one category. One enterprise-project entry (single article or series) will be accepted. In the column writing category, each entry will consist of three columns by one writer; so three entries would consist of nine columns by three writers.

Three section-front entries will be accepted from one or more layout persons for each of the two section-front categories.

Rules for writing divisions:

* Entries must be submitted on 8.5×11 sheets of paper. No folding, multiple sheets should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.

* Please remove all headlines, bylines, graphics, etc.

* Electronic archive copies will be accepted.

* Submissions for all writing entries in each category should be accompanied by a separate enclosure on newspaper letterhead listing the paper's numbered entry and the name of each writer (Feature 1, John Smith, etc.).

* At the top right-hand corner of each entry, list the writing category (Feature story, column writing, etc), the circulation class (under 20,000, etc.) the paper's numbered entry (Column 1, Feature 2, etc.) and the date of publication.

Rules for headline entries:

* Submit entries on an 8.5×11 sheets of paper with accompanying story (the whole story doesn't have to be on the page; just enough to help judges know what the headline is about).

* Submissions for all headline writing entries should be accompanied by a separate enclosure on newspaper letterhead listing the numbered entry (Headline 1, Headline 2, Headline 3), the text of each headline and the name of the person who wrote each headline and the date of publication.

* At the top right-hand corner of each entry, list the writing division (Headline writing), the circulation category (under 20,000, etc.) your paper's numbered entry (Headline 1, Headline 2, etc.) and the date of publication.

Rules for section-front entries:

* Submissions are simply full-page tear sheets.

* Submissions for all section-front entries should be accompanied by a separate enclosure on newspaper letterhead listing the paper's entries and the person or persons who designed them and the date of publication.

* Unlike the national contest, we don't need the whole section. Just the front page.

Note: In instances where one staff produces two separately named papers, the entries in the writing and section categories must be made as if it were one paper, and must be made in the larger circulation category.

Please send your entries to:

Jon Styf

Sports Editor

The Beaumont Enterprise

P.O. Box 3071

Beaumont, TX 77704

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Keith Campbell at 214-977-7896 or kcampbell@dallasnews.com. Jon can be reached at 409-838-2839 or jstyf@beaumontenterprise.com.

Dates set for APSE Southwest Region meeting

Josh Barnett — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:13:12 +0000

By Josh Barnett

APSE Regions committee chair

The APSE Southwest Region meeting will be returning to San Antonio, where it was held in 2010. The dates are Friday and Saturday, July 27-28. It will be held at the Express-news Human Resources Building at 309 North Alamo, across the street from the main Express-News building.

From a scheduling standpoint, the regional meeting falls immediately before the start of the Texas High Schools Coaches Association Convention and Coaching School, which runs July 29 to Aug. 1 in San Antonio.

“We are hoping to craft a program that journalists from both small and large papers will find interesting and informative,” said Southwest Region chair Keith Campbell, deputy sports editor of the Dallas Morning News.

Campbell and region vice chair Jon Styf, sports editor of the Beaumont Enterprise, have several ideas for panels, seminars and sessions, but are seeking input from editors. Contact Campbell at kcampbell@dallasnews.com and Styf at jstyf@beaumontenterprise.com.

More details will be available as they are finalized.

Digital First Media becomes sponsor of APSE’s Diversity Fellowship Program

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:00:24 +0000

Digital First Media has committed a $1,000 sponsorship to APSE's Diversity Fellowship Program, joining The Sporting News as a gold-level sponsor of APSE's sports journalism management training program for women and editors of color.

DFM, based in New York, is the management firm that runs both MediaNews Group, the nation's second-largest media company, and the Journal Register Company. The commitment was made by Editor-in-Chief Jim Brady.

The Diversity Fellowship Program was launched in 2011 by APSE. It is a ninth-month training program designed to prepare mid-career journalists to join or advance in management of sports journalism. The first class of four Fellows is expected to graduate at APSE's summer conference in Chicago in June.

APSE is the major sponsor of the program. Other supporters include Indiana University, which hosts a weekend of academic training, and the Association for Women in Sports Media, which is a bronze-level sponsor.